Hirelings and Players

[Steven Dunham]

I'm tired of my players not playing what they want to play because of the group needing a healer or skills. I was going to suggest to them to use a hireling until they can get a cohort, but I'm not 100% on what exactly I should do as the GM.

What classes should I make available and which should I restrict?

What should the price be for these npcs?

Should they function like cohorts, take xp away from each encounter, or should I not have them gain xp at all?

Any opinions or better ideas on this matter are welcome and greatly appreciated.

[Sean Mahoney]

I think you will find that if they take resources from the PCs then they will be much less likely to use them.

The XP would be the biggest deterrent I would think.

Personally I would just to disabuse them of the idea that someone has to be healer and learn to love out of combat healing with wands.

Sean

[CalebTGordan]

Hirelings are a great option. Check out the free PDF Hirelings here on the Paizo site. Just do a search for it.

Also, look at goods and services in the equipment section of the Core Rulebooks or Ultimate Equipment. There are rules and guidelines for hirelings there as well.

Personally, I would not allow a hireling to enter combat unless they were very well paid. We are talking a share of any loot type of payment. It would be better to help the party out of combat and talk to them about battle tactics to keep them alive.

[Kayerloth]

Agree with both the previous posters. Hirelings would work but I would not get them involved in combat, except perhaps as plot devices or something to protect from the foes (and initially I'd merely use them to help the party as needed before working anything else into the story). Recurring friendly NPCs would be another way to supply aid. Such as a npc cleric of an temple/faith one of your PCs follows.

What sort of skills do you think they need or is the group looking for?

[Diego Rossi]

Exactly what your players want to play?
As pathfinder has several classes capable to heal and several classes with decent skill use, I fail to see how it will be a big problem.

Even specific abilities like the rogue trapfinding are available to other classes.

About the hireling question:
- in my games if they should share the same risk of a PC they usually get a stipend (around 100 gp/level/month) and half share of the loot and they get their share of the XP (generally they count as 1/2 PC).
Remember, differently from the cohorts the PC get through the leadership feat, they don't "use" a character resource (a feat) so they shoudl have other costs.

- if they don't take the same risks as the players a retainer fee for following them in dangerous territory plus a compensation from the spells or abilities used should be sufficient.
It would vary a lot depending on what the PC need. A captain and a few sailors to steer a ship while exploring the seas can eb relatively cheap.
An expert in disabling traps that should go with you to the forbidden temple on the island and disable several traps and locks would ask the same pay of the example above.